Courtesy of Clem Jackson’s interview with Ray George of Nationwide Christian Trust in this month’s Christian Marketplace, we now have the definitive list of shops that Living Oasis have in their sights:

Glad to see someone else taking the initiative to keep Christian retail going, and wish Ray and all at NCT all the best.

However I am a little concerned by just how evasive some of the comments have been so far. In the interview Ray mentioned that they had taken (rather than were considering, implying that the clock was already ticking) temporary leases on the current units. For 3-6 months. If we assume he took leases from when Baker Tilley abandoned them, we’re looking at a month of that lease (on average) already run, and only 4 stores (plus Harrogate) with possible opening dates, that only gives stores a couple of months before having to move on. At The Hub, we just about managed to turn a single store around in exactly one month, 20 another 15 in the next four or five seems… speculative at best. Add to that, that almost as soon as your shop is open, you are pulling staff away to help refit your new unit, and the whole thing seems like a very big ask.

However, what what concerned me the most was his failure to answer the question about whether or not shop viability was dependent upon local support. It would seem that Living Oasis/NCT have only made a short term commitment to the 20 (presumably the same as the short term leases they have taken), so does that therefore mean that if local support isn’t there, this magical 20 number could become a lot less?

Like I said, I’m glad that NCT have stepped up and taken a bold move, but with so many people pinning so much to this “rescue” if I had been one of those people, I would have liked some more reassurances…. or to put it another, I’m glad our future here in Walsall is in our own hands.

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